Best Practices - Office 365

With more of our private communication, financial transactions, and health care information being stored online, the accessibility of this information to users comes with serious security risks. A strong password policy is the front line of defense to confidential user information. When you initiate a password reset, it is recommended that you take the time to think of a strong password that is not easily guessed. To be able to create a strong password, you should be aware of the criteria to make one.

The password criteria should basically include the following:

• A strong password must be at least 8 characters long.
• It should not contain any of your personal information—specifically your real name, user name, or even your company name, DOB, SSN, etc.
• It must be very unique from your 6 previously used passwords.
• It should not contain any word spelled completely.
• It should contain characters from the four primary categories, including: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and characters (!, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *).

Additionally, we highly recommend that you take note and follow these guidelines regarding passwords:

• Your university password will expire 365 days from when it was last set.
• Do not share your password, as this could lead to invalid login attempts which will lock your account.
• When entering your password on a website, ensure that you are on the correct website and that you trust the site.
• Avoid writing down your password and leaving it where someone can easily find it.
• We often get spam / malicious emails with false links asking for your login; we do not ask for your login information via email.